[Extra Ride]

Wondering if my battery is the original one.

No problems, car starts right away, lights burn bright and tested as good at the local auto parts store. Showed 13.6 volts when it was tested for emissions also.

serial number engraved in battery is 6803D54

 

[Devoking]

Looks Original. Doesn't have the pop out warranty date tag anywhere.

 

[sirwm]

I did not know the origin of my battery either.

So I got rid of it so that it would not give me any surprises...

 

[Radio Doc]

Wondering if my battery is the original one.

No problems, car starts right away, lights burn bright and tested as good at the local auto parts store. Showed 13.6 volts when it was tested for emissions also.

serial number engraved in battery is 6803D54

Typically the serial number is meaningless. Most batteries have some type of date code; if you can't find anything obvious, take it to a battery shop and see if they can find the date.

 

[Smyleysjoint]

I have the exact same battery! I ve only had my 2007 for 3 months. I've been told its original!

 

[Extra Ride]

There is no date code that can be seen. From my research thus far, which may or may not be right, the serial number does have some relevance to date ?

Smylesjoint - if your battery looks similar do you mind taking a look at the number engraved on yours to see if we might be able to make a correlation or work toward figuring out possible code...

Thanks for the responses thus far.

 

[Sting Ya]

Looks original, if you have ever replaced one of these it's not a 5 minute job if you have any concerns get a new one you did not say what year your car is but most new car batteries are good for about four to five years

 

[Extra Ride]

It's a 2006. The battery itself says it's a 6 year battery on it's label - see photo ( 86-6 YR )

That's why I'm wondering. It seems in great shape. I'm thinking either it's a 2006 or maybe it was replaced once with an OEM battery. It test's out very well.

I was hoping somebody might make heads or tails of the serial number for sure or be able match up in a similar sequence of numbers on a battery known to be original in their car, or tell me if it's been changed once already with OEM.

 

[MidniteBlues]

Looks original, if you have ever replaced one of these it's not a 5 minute job if you have any concerns get a new one you did not say what year your car is but most new car batteries are good for about four to five years

Actually my battery lasted just over 6 years, if you reach 6 years, you did great, a few even said that they have gone over 7 years. However, most start to fail after 6YO if not sooner..:devil:

 

[Sting Ya]

Extra : If your car is from Wisconsin ,worked up there a few years ago Whitefish Bay area great people beautiful country sorry to get side tracked, and you are not the original owner my guess is the car was stored in the winter I live in Ohio and if you do not store a battery properly ie: remove it from the car or run a maintence type charger on it you will have issues better to be safe then sorry. There is a constant draw on the battery because of all the electrical stuff going on ECM etc.Why wait to have an issue last thing you need is to be cruisin on a beautiful day and the car does not start ."An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

 

[jeff465]

Looks factory to me. The replacements have DELCO blue sticker with group size. I see the stamping number under the lower sticker. Just a guess, August 3rd, 2006. I looked all over the top of my battery in the coupe and no stamping number.

 

[Extra Ride]

Thanks again for the responses. The build date of the car is 02/06 from the sticker on the drivers door jamb.

If we could learn the definitive coding for the engraved number on the battery that would be helpful in affirming for sure just how old this battery is.

It works great and tested very well that it makes me wonder a bit if it really is the original one or if maybe was replaced with an OEM some time ago.

As the car was built Feb of 06, if this is the original battery it has lasted well over 7 years and still going strong.

 

[DaveOC]

Thanks again for the responses. The build date of the car is 02/06 from the sticker on the drivers door jamb.

If we could learn the definitive coding for the engraved number on the battery that would be helpful in affirming for sure just how old this battery is.

It works great and tested very well that it makes me wonder a bit if it really is the original one or if maybe was replaced with an OEM some time ago.

As the car was built Feb of 06, if this is the original battery it has lasted well over 7 years and still going strong.

Mine was almost 7 1/2 years when I replaced it this past spring as preventative maintenance. It was still strong, operating normally, no indication that it might be "getting old".

I also had another GM vehicle that the battery quit at the ripe old age of 2 years, 364 days from date of delivery (1 day inside the bumper to bumper warranty). Yep, replaced under warranty.

.

 

[MidniteBlues]

On my old H2 when I had it, I had to replace it exactly every 3 years when it died.. It was like it had a drop dead date encoded in them..:lol:

 

[wspohn]

In the Good Old Days you expected to get 10 years out of a battery and they usually managed it.

All the modern cars have parasitic current draws for radio presets, XM etc., and will flatten the batteries if left unused for very long. I wonder if that has anything to do with battery life?

I have one old (69) MG that has no radio, the battery is connected all winter long, and although we don't start it and run it in the winter, we do crank it over (a clutch disc with ferrous content sticks to the flywheel if we don't). Fires up every spring, lasts a decade and has never needed to go on a charger.

 

[chickenwire]

Yes, parasitic loads on a battery can be a bad thing. Lead acid batteries don't like to get drained and if they do, it accelerates their demise. Same thing if they freeze.

I'm taking the lead of others here and replacing the batter soon as I know it is original and it's going to be 7 years old this fall. No problems yet, but I'm not going to wait.

 

[Radio Doc]

It works great and tested very well that it makes me wonder a bit if it really is the original one or if maybe was replaced with an OEM some time ago.

Just a tip...don't put too much faith in testing. A few years ago, I took the family to Niagara Falls in February and actually went through the trouble of having the battery tested before we left. Even though it tested "perfectly fine", we had to call AAA twice.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Extra Ride]

Yes, parasitic loads on a battery can be a bad thing. Lead acid batteries don't like to get drained and if they do, it accelerates their demise. Same thing if they freeze.

I'm taking the lead of others here and replacing the batter soon as I know it is original and it's going to be 7 years old this fall. No problems yet, but I'm not going to wait.

Chicken - thanks for posting up - as yours is original would you mind checking the engraved serial number for grins and comparison ?? Would appreciate it.

Also thanks to Doc and others for further replies.

 

[mcurrier]

My original battery is exactly 6.5 years old and still going.

 

[DaveOC]

A couple of years ago, I came across a graphic showing average battery life based on where you lived in the US and Canada.

I thought I posted it here on the forum, but I haven't been able to find it again.

I'll keep looking, but if anyone sees it, please repost. Thanks.

.